Before visiting Kenya, tourists need to know the different prepaid phone operators available in the country, especially if they wish to use their mobile phones there. As of today, there are four available GSM prepaid phone operators in Kenya, namely: Safaricom Limited, Airtel Networks Kenya Limited, Telkom Kenya Limited (Orange Kenya) and ESSAR TELECOM KENYA LIMITED (ECONET WIRELESS KENYA LIMITED). The mobile prefix for Kenya is +254. Their currency, Kenyan Shilling = 0.01022 Euro. The electricity available in Kenya is 220 Volts with an electrical frequency of 50 Hertz. Time Zone is GMT +3.00.
The first GSM prepaid phone operator available in Kenya is Safaricom Limited. It was established in 1997 as a fully owned subsidiary of Telkom Kenya. And in May 2000, Vodafone Group Plc of the United Kingdom (world’s largest mobile communications company) acquired 40% stake and management of the company. Safaricom is the largest and leading prepaid phone operator in Kenya. They offer a wide range of services such as voice, data, post paid and prepaid phone plans, weather updates, market prices, entertainment updates and Internet services. Safaricom is the first mobile communications company to launch 3G Internet technology services in East Africa and recently they introduced 4G connectivity. Safaricom’s main rival is Airtel Kenya. As of January 2010, Safaricom Limited has 12 million subscribers.
The prepaid phone card name for Safaricom is called “PrePaid.” The activation fee for this prepaid phone card is KES 2,500. The net frequency for Safaricom is GSM 900. The logo for this prepaid phone card is SAF-COM with a net code of 639 02.
There are two voice tariffs under Prepaid: Super Taifa and Ongea that offers calls from Monday to Sunday. Super Taifa offers calls from Monday to Sunday: all calls (first 2 minutes) for KES 20.00 and all calls (after 2 minutes) for KES 10.00. While Ongea offers: calls to Safaricom from Monday to Sunday for KES 8.00 and calls to other mobile for KES 15.00.
Additional Costs and Services:
Messaging:
- SMS to Safaricom – KES 3.50 per message
- Other national SMS – KES 5.00 per message
- International SMS – KES 10.00 per message
- MMS – 100KB for KES 3.50; 101-200KB for KES 7.00; 201-300KB for KES 10.50
Voicemail: Free of charge
Data:
- GPRS, EDGE and 3G – KES 8.00 per MB
- 5MB – KES 5; valid for 24 hours
- 10MB – KES 8; valid for 24 hours
- 25MB – KES 20; valid for 24 hours
- 50MB – KES 100; valid for 30 days
- 200MB – KES 250; valid for 30 days
- 500MB – KES 499; valid for 30 days
International Calls:
- MTN Uganda, UTL, Vodacom Tanzania and MTN Rwanda – KES 18.00 per minute
- North America (USA, Canada and China) – KES 25.00 per minute
- East Africa, Burundi and Rwanda – KES 30.00 per minute
- Europe and South Africa – KES 40.00 per minute
- Rest of the world – KES 50.00 per minute
International Roaming: International roaming service available, see here
Recharge and Credit:
- KES 250/250; valid for 30 days
- KES 500/500; valid for 60 days
- KES 1000/1000; valid for 120 days
- KES 2500/2500; valid for 240 days
- KES 5000/5000; valid for 360 days
- KES 10000/10000; valid for 485 days
Debiting Method: 1/1
The second GSM prepaid phone operator available in Kenya is Airtel Networks Kenya Limited or more commonly known as Airtel Kenya. Airtel was launched in Kenya in 2000 as Kecell then became Zain in 2008 and finally rebranded as Airtel Kenya in 2010. According to Zain Ghana, the Board of Directors of Kuwait’s Zain Group and Bharti Airtel Limited (Bharti) closed their deal for $10.7 billion. As part of the deal, Airtel Kenya now has access to 15 more countries in the region, with an additional 40.1 million subscribers to its already 125 million customers. In Kenya, Bharti Airtel is the second largest mobile communications company with 4 million subscribers, as of January 15, 2011. They offer fixed lines, postpaid and prepaid phone plans, Airtel Money, One Network, Blackberry devices and services, international roaming, local and international text messaging, 24-hour customer care center, high speed broadband, Internet access, IPTV, NTH, Directory enquirers, SMS information services, Mobile Top up and Me2U. In February 2012, Airtel Kenya launched their 3.75 or HSDPA network services.
The prepaid phone card name for Airtel Kenya is called “Haki Yetu.” The validity of this prepaid phone card is unlimited although Haki Yetu users should at least make a call every 90 days. The net frequency available for Airtel Kenya is GSM 900. The logos for this prepaid phone card are Airtel KE, Zain KE, Celtel KE and KENCELL, while its net code is 639 03.
The voice tariff under Haki Yetu is called “Vuka” that offers calls from Monday to Sunday for KES 3.00 per minute and national SMS for KES 1.00 per message. Benefits from Vuka plan includes: no call set up fee and per second billing.
Additional Costs and Services:
Messaging: *To activate MMS, send ‘all’ to 232
- International SMS – KES 10.00 per message
- MMS – KES 9.00 per message
Voicemail: Same rate as the local voice calls
Data Calls: *Dial 544# for more information and data bundle services
- GPRS or EDGE: KES 7.00 per MB
International Calls:
- USA, India,Canada, China and UK (land line) – KES 3.00 per minute
- East Africa, South Africa, United Arab Emirates and UK (mobile) – KES 20.00 per minute
- Rest of the World – KES 30.00 per minute
International Roaming: International roaming service available, rates are unknown
Recharge and Credit:
- KES 100/100
- KES 200/200
- KES 500/500
- KES 1000/1000
Validity: At least one call or SMS or refill every 90 days in order to prolong the validity of their prepaid phone sim card
Debiting Method: 1/1
Third on the list of GSM prepaid phone operators in Kenya is Telkom Kenya Limited (Orange Kenya). Orange Telecommunications is a brand used by France Telecom for its mobile network operators and Internet service providers around the globe. Telkom Kenya was established as a telecommunications operator under the Companies Act in 1999. Its mobile operations brand name is “Orange Kenya,” that offers a wide range of voice and data services, as well as network facilities for residential and business customers. Orange Kenya offers mobile telephony in GSM and CDMA platforms, fixed line telephone services and Internet services. The network coverage of Orange Kenya on both voice and data channels is already available in the entire country. As of June 2011, Orange Kenya has an approximately 2.8 million customers.
The prepaid phone card name for Orange Kenya is called “Prepaid.” The activation fee for this prepaid phone card is KES 100 with 50 free credits. The net frequency for Orange Kenya is GSM 900/1800. The logo for this prepaid phone card is Orange KE while its net code is 639 07.
There are two available voice tariffs under Prepaid, namely: Prepaid and Off-peak tariff. Prepaid offers: calls to Orange and land line for KES 7.00, other calls for KES 14.00 and family and friends (5 numbers) for KES 3.50. While Off-peak tariff offers: calls to Orange (Monday to Sunday 7AM – 7PM) for KES 7.00, other calls (Monday to Sunday 7AM – 7PM) for KES 14.00, calls to Orange (Monday to Sunday 7PM – 7AM) for KES 3.00 and other calls (Monday to Sunday 7PM – 7AM) for KES 6.00.
Additional Costs and Services:
Messaging:
- National SMS – KES 3.50 per message
- International SMS – KES 10.00 per message
Voicemail: Free of charge
Data Calls: Data bundle information, see here
- 50MB – KES 100 valid for 30 days
- 100MB – KES 150 valid for 30 days
- 500MB – KES 500 valid for 30 days
- 1GB – KES 750 valid for 30 days
International calls: International prepaid phone calls available, see here
International Roaming: International roaming service available, see here
Recharge and Credit:
- KES 20/20
- KES 50/50
- KES 100/100
- KES 200/200
- KES 500/500
- KES 1000/1000
Debiting Method: 1/1
Fourth available GSM prepaid phone operator in Kenya is the ESSAR TELECOM KENYA LIMITED (ECONET WIRELESS KENYA LIMITED) or more commonly known as Yu Mobile Kenya. Yu Mobile Kenya is under Essar Telecom Kenya and Econet Wireless Kenya. Econet offers telecommunications services in Africa, Europe, South America, and the East Asia Pacific Rim. And in Africa, they operate in Kenya through their mobile brand name, Yu Mobile Kenya. The mobile communications company offers products and services through mobile (post paid and prepaid phone plans) and fixed telephone services, broadband, satellite and fibre optic networks. Currently, Yu Mobile Kenya has 2.1 million subscribers.
The prepaid phone card name for Yu Mobile Kenya is called “Pre-paid.” The activation fee and validity of this prepaid phone card are available upon request. The net frequency for Yu Mobile Kenya is GSM 900/1800. The logo for this prepaid phone card is yu KE with a net code of 639 05. Pre-paid offers all calls from Monday to Sunday for KES 7.50 per minute.
Additional Costs and Services:
Messaging:
- SMS to Yu – Free of charge
- SMS to other operators – KES 3.50 per message
- International SMS – KES 10.00 per message
- MMS to Yu – KES 5.00 per message
- International MMS – KES 20.00 per message
Voicemail: Free of charge
Data Calls: GPRS, EDGE and 3G – KES 3.00/MB
International Calls:
- Eastern Africa – KES 18.00 per minute
- USA, Canada and China – KES 25.00 per minute
- Comesa – KES 30.00 per minute
- Europe, North America and Mediterranean Africa – KES 40.00 per minute
- Rest of the world – KES 50.00 per minute
International Roaming: International roaming service available, see here
Recharge and Credit:
KES 100/100
KES 250/250
KES 500/500
Debiting Method: 1/1